europabarbarorumfandomcom-20200214-history
Uassedoi (British Spear and Sling Infantry)
The Uassedoi are slingers-cum-spearmen. This combination gives them a certain degree of staying power, enabling them to shower their opponents with slingstones, yet also hold the ground against lighter foes. Description The Uassedoi let loose their slings. The pebbles and balls of baked clay fly through the air and down, deep into the flesh of their foes. Cries of pain erupt from the mouths of the enemy and they appeal to their horse riding comrades to avenge them. The horsemen spy the Uassedoi, an easy kill perhaps? Onward they goad their steeds, the gap between them and their stone throwing prey closes, they brandish their weapons and prepare to dispatch their prey to the otherworld. But then, like a boar that has been cornered by hounds, the Uassedoi turn and brandish their tusks. Sharp spears now greet their would-be killers, sinking deep into the flesh of the enemy horsemen and their mounts. The horsemen wheel around, trying to find a gap in the lines of the Uassedoi, but to no avail. As one by one their lot is felled they lose heart and break. Back to their own lines they ride, their spirits overcome. And so the Uassedoi return to the fray. The hunted return as the hunter and repay the chase with another shower of slingstones. Historically vassalage, from which the term Uassedoi comes, was likely a highly important means of structuring society at certain times, and in certain places of Iron Age Britain. We know from surviving law texts which have likely have their origin in the Iron Age that it was certainly an important aspect of early Irish society. Vassalage in Iron Age Britain would likely have been similar to how it was in Gaul during the Late Iron Age, with individuals exchanging some of their personal freedoms and products in exchange for protection from another person. The archaeological evidence for such ties of vassalage is likely the variety of items of fine metalwork which have been recovered in Britain which date to this period. The role and act of giving gifts of prestigious or high value items to individuals in order to create social bonds, has been much studied by archaeologists and anthropologists. Unlike commercial exchanges which involve an item being exchanged for an item or items of comparable worth, if not money, the exchange of prestige items operates differently. Whereas commercial exchanges are isolated events with no major social repercussions or requirement for further exchanges, the exchange of prestige items creates a social debt, which must then be fulfilled either by providing services to the individual who gave the item, or by offering up an item of greater worth. It is possible that several of the high status objects which have been recovered dating to Iron Age Britain, such as the Snettisham torques from Norfolk or the gold bracelet and brooches from the Winchester hoard, were involved in gift exchanges at some point. It has likewise been argued that the gold Belgic coinage which began to be introduced to Britain c.120BC represents ties of vassalage between Britons and Belgic overlords, with the former supplying themselves as warriors in the service of the latter. Usage These men are basically the sling equivalent of the Persian archer-spearmen and are a highly valuable unit due to their versatility. Just as highly devastating as the Magunoi (British Slingers) but are able to fend off light cavalry mistaking them for an easy kill. As such, they are best used in near their unarmed counterparts. Still, their low morale and their low numbers makes them ill-fit to fight even levy spearmen and much stronger cavalry. Category:Units Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Aedui Category:Arverni Category:Pritanoi